Thursday, July 1, 2010

Anonymity Sells

f you happen to read my other blog, Sterling and Topaz, you know that we're moving. Or at least we're going to attempt to. We don't have a contract on another house and we don't even have ours on the market. We're trying to speed toward listing ours and today, my task was making the decorations less personal and more attractive to Mr. and Mrs. Anyman. I'd like to show you what I did so you can get some ideas of your own and see how easy it is.

Here's the thing I was most eager to change. I went to Hobby Lobby this morning and bought some clearance home decor items to create a new look for our mantle. We had a large picture of my husband and I hanging there previously, the candles, and the glass LOVE plaque. I bought the star for $8 and the mirror for $10, reused the candles and the plaque and added a photograph of a calla lily I already owned. Still fantastic, but impersonal now. :)

The second change.... A vignette in our living room that includes two photos from our engagement shoot. I love them, but they gotta go.

And the "after" with my own design from scrapbook paper, scissors and glue. Cost: $3

Close up of the one on the right:

Another family photo, covered with the leftovers from the scrapbook paper. It sits atop our piano, so it was easy to decide what to make. :)

This was just an issue of decorating gone wrong that needed fixing. In this case an oversized pillow that was comfy, but the wrong scale for the chair and the small den the chair sits in. Solution, an outdoor pillow on clearance at Target that will join our outdoor furniture, once we get some.

Much more inviting, don't you think?

I read in one of my online "how to sell your house" searches to buy a new doormat. Hobby Lobby had theirs half off, so $10 got me this beautiful, clean, new welcome mat that we'll bring to our new home with us after it welcomes buyers into our current home.

You may notice the wreath above the doormat. That's new too. I only do wreaths at Christmas typically, but since we're trying to look extra welcoming and festive, I decided to look into making one. Total cost: about $12. Every item I bought was half off and then I filled in with some magnolia tree greenery fresh cut from our tree out front. This idea of cutting your own greenery, as well as the idea of unraveling the grapevines a bit to give the wreath more character are not my own. Thank you Mrs. speaker who came to the MOPS meeting last year and taught us decorating tips!

I'm having too good of a time doing this. There's still a lot of not-so-fun things to be done, like putting things in storage and packing and whisking away a two-year old and seven month old during showings, but at least there's some part of this process that's enjoyable.
Similar posts to follow as more changes take place.